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On the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, Frederick Douglas’ words come to mind: What, to the slave, is the 4th of July?

The true story of America started long before 1776, with European colonization, land theft, genocide, and slavery. Throughout it all: rebellion. Native rebellion, African rebellion, Caribbean rebellion. The American canon as it exists tells the story of white landowners and their dreams, often in opposition to the land and its original stewards.

But working people will always make do.

Outlaws’ Almanac is a compilation album that melds folk, Americana, roots, and more to respond to the occasion of this nation’s anniversary, and to be of use to the American people. The album finds its roots in slave rebellion, in protest songs, and in traditional tunes. It roars into the present with full-throated visions for a better future.

Revolution is inevitable, but it’s not a faceless force: revolution is made up of individuals and groups choosing to leave the known behind in favor of an unknown future. It’s a call to be ordinarily and extraordinarily courageous, and to envision something beyond the intoxicant that is proximity to whiteness and wealth.

Are you one of the outlaws? Do you see yourself in these stories? Do you hear yourself in these voices? Are our hopes and yearnings one with yours? Do you want to be part of building the new world? We are your comrades.

Outlaw history is never canonized, yet outlaws are the stewards and protectors of our collective humanity. They are the breakers and the re-builders, the providers of free breakfast in schools, the hands stitching the AIDS quilt, the protectors of our water, the growers of our food, the defenders of our right to labor and therefore live.

Open the almanac; begin at any page. A calendar is never wrong, no matter what one thinks or believes. When it’s time for rebellion, the rebellion will begin. The point is the outlaws. It always has been. The almanac is just a tool.

As Douglass said: I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope.

Liner notes by Kimaya Diggs

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